Berlin 2012: Buyers Hot for 'Hansel and Gretel in 3D'

UPDATED: The live action take on the Grimm Brothers fairy tale has pre-sold to Russia, China and Eastern Europe.

BERLIN – Hansel and Gretel in 3D, a live-action take on the famous Grimm Brothers fairytale which The Institute is producing, has pre-sold to multiple territories at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Paradise MGN took rights in Russia to the title, which is set to go into production in Germany later this year. Paradise also has Russian rights to Tarsem Singh’s Mirror Mirror, a reboot of the Grimms’ Snow White, starring Julia Roberts. In Eastern Europe, indie distributor SPI will bow the film, while HGC will handle China.

Other territories following the trail of crumbs to The Institute’s title include India (PVR), Middle East (Tanweer), South Africa (Nu Metro), Turkey (Media Max) and South Korea (Bloomage). All deals were negotiated by the law firm Loeb & Loeb.

“The response from distributors around the globe is a testament to the worldwide appeal of the Hansel & Gretel story,” says Scott Gardenhour, co-founder of The Institute.

Gardenhour is producing Hansel and Gretel in 3D together with Kira Madallo Sesay through her Kalliope Films label. Sesay also penned the script. No director has yet been announced for the project but several top below-the-line names are attached, including character designer Joseph C. Pepe (Avatar) and casting director Karen Lindsay-Stewart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).

The Institute first unveiled the title at the AFM last year, where it locked up several international territories.

Update: An earlier version of this story said that Michael Bay is a producer. He is not involved with the project in any capacity.